(Tekken) Tag! You’re It!

Earlier this week, on our YouTube channel, I posted the last in my first series of fighting game videos titled “Not Zangief.” I had such a blast with it, and I’ll certainly be returning with more classic fighting game action in the future. In honor of all that, I though I’d share this post I wrote awhile ago for my own blog about a game that wasn’t (and likely won’t be, but you never know) featured in the “Not Zangief” series: Tekken Tag Tournament.

Despite my love of fighting games, there are plenty of series that I’ve never touched. Fatal Fury and Bushido Blade come to mind. I’ve dabble a little in Super Smash Bros. territory but, much to my shame, not enough to really enjoy the games. We recently got World Heroes through the Wii Shop, and it’s…okay…for a 90s fighting game. And if it weren’t for a single game, I would have been able to count Tekken among these. Actually, no…two games. I remember playing a Tekken game on the original Xbox years ago, but I don’t recall which one. In any event, the game I have in mind, one of the few PS2 games and the only Tekken game we still have, is Tekken Tag Tournament (2000).

Tekken is a the fighting man’s fighting game series as much as it’s the thinking man’s fighting game series. The games are hard and intimidating…for me, anyway. And Tekken Tag Tournament repeatedly, repeatedly, kicked my butt like no other fighting game before (or since). It deliberately commanded my attention and had no qualms about kicking me in the face when I was down.

On the exterior, Tekken Tag Tournament was visual playground that fully displayed the PS2’s graphical capabilities. The backgrounds were very dimensional and dynamic, and the character renderings were quite detailed (though I’m pretty sure all the men had the same evil-eye and frowny-face look). And once you opened up all the characters in the game, it was a generous smorgasbord of all the goodness the series had to offer up to that point. I don’t recall there being any story to the game; you just picked characters and fought until your thumbs were raw.

At this point, you’re probably expecting some sort of rundown about the characters I enjoyed, or maybe my thoughts about the controls. Or maybe some sort of comparison to other fighting games. But…

I got zilch.

Zip.

Nada.

Call me an insincere gamer, but I never once sat down to play Tekken by myself (mistake #1). I always played it in the company of others, and always in the company of other Tekken players (mistake #2). Because I never took time to get to know the game on my own, I never fully embraced the controls or the willful gameplay. Other games, Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, though they weren’t easy, were a little more forgiving for the novice player. Sure, defeat (and the occasional win) came fast and furious, but the process was not as ponderous as in Tekken. In Tekken Tag Tournament, the matches felt almost torturous as it was so easy for the computer or other players to slowly mash my character into pulp. And each time I got back up, I was quickly bashed down again. (However, the slower-paced Tekken games are very enjoyable to watch, when played well, because they aren’t as frenetic as other fighting games.)

So no, I don’t remember any characters except King and Nina and that one samurai-robot guy-thing with a sword — he was alright. I don’t remember the controls, except that they were very tap-heavy like with Mortal Kombat. And I couldn’t even compare the experience to any other fighting games, except to say that Tekken Tag Tournament was just not my game. I mean, I’ll give it a go these days for the nostalgia factor, and because Tekken is worth it.Tekken games make you want to win, even if you know there’s no chance in hades that you’ll live through most of any given round. If I had the time and patience to really get into Tekken Tag Tournament, or any Tekken game, I know the things that I’d learn would help me in just about any fighting game. But, for now, I’d rather drop into a few ridiculous rounds of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Not much thinking required there. Just go, go, GO…as Sonia Blade would (maybe) say.

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7 Comments

It’s always disappointing when you encounter a sour experience in a series you’re otherwise a big fan of. I kinda felt the same when Halo 5 came out. I love Halo multiplayer, but something about how it works in 5 just rubs me the wrong way, you know?

Yeah, I guess that’s how things go sometimes. You can’t fault developers for wanting to bring something new to each game in a series, but at the same time, it’s tough to get past that feeling of disappointment when a perceived favorite game just doesn’t live up to what you hoped. (That’s how I felt moving from Uncharted 2 to Uncharted 3 — from one of my best gaming experiences to one that I thought would top it, but didn’t.) I guess we all hope that things will get better in the next game, whenever it comes along.

Its funny because like yourself I’m not really that good at fighting games at all but love playing/watching them. However, I’m miles better at say Tekken Tag Tournament over Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Even when I play in ‘Simple’ mode I get my ass kicked as each character to me controls completely different. At least in Tekken I feel characters can easily be split up into ‘light, medium and heavy’ and then have their own unique characteristics added on top of that.

But I guess at the end of the day it depends what you grew up on. I think Soul Calibur 2 on the Gamecube was the first fighting game I ever took seriously. Which is made by the same guys as Tekken so I might just have an unfair advantage = P

I remember trying Soul Calibur ages ago, but I never really got hooked. Though, never made the connection between it and Tekken. Tekken has a very measured feeling to the fighting, this over the chaotic nature of a Marvel vs. Capcom game. That might be why I kind of favor the latter — I don’t look so bad when there’s so much going on on-screen, haha! That said, I’ve recently gotten a bit more into fighting games, and I’m hoping to revisit the Tekken series at some point.

If I’m honest with you, I think the reason Soul Calibur 2 got me was down to the fact I had the Gamecube version which had Link as a guest character. I’m a sucker for anything Zelda related.

But I totally see your point about Marvel Vs Capcom. There is quite a bit going on! T.Bonne is always one of my favourites in that game. With her endless supply of Servo Bots ready to do her bidding. I always liked the idea of getting good as Phoenix Wright but his moves are way too complicated for me.

Maybe you should try Street Fighter X Tekken? Which is kind of a melting pot between both series. Might be an interesting way to ‘transition’ over. Plus! You can play as Pac Man in a mech. Just in case you needed a further selling point = P